Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Number 1... Flying home from Denver today I was listening to my iPod on shuffle. So... you know how the pilot likes to get on the horn and tell you stuff like in a sinister yet calm voice reminiscent of your dentist,

Good afternoon folks from up here in the cabin. We have reached our cruising altitude of 37,000 feet so I am going to go ahead and turn off the seat belt fastened light. We had a bit of trouble getting out of Denver but I can assure you that we'll pick up the pace and get you into Sacramento 4 minutes late.

So we're like flying along and my iPod is shuffling through a mix of the Doors and Dave Matthews and shit, and I got my "free" ginger ale as I always do to calm my "nerves" flying in a sheet metal tube at 37000 feet. And the flight goes quick for a two and a half hours... And so my iPod is pumping along and the captain gets on at the end,

Well... we have began our final decent. So (DING!) I need you all in your seats as I have turned on the fastened seat belt light.

And I was half asleep and I wake up when the dude says that and my iPod had shuffled to Jon Bon Jovi's "Blaze of Glory" and as soon as he said "final decent" all I heard from my iPod was,

I'm goin' do-o-o-o-o-o-o-own in a blaze of glow' ry

All anyone wants to hear as their plane is going down...

Number 2,

I took DW, Elijah and Goofy my sister in law out to dinner at Paesano's here in Sacramento. It's a cool place here in downtown Sac that makes pizza and pasta but in a way that sets it apart from a chain store like Pizza Hut or whatever. Plus they serve alcohol. The SIL and I split a bottle of Boeger's Barbera. Good freaking wine, man seriously. I hadn't seen Elijah in a couple of days so it was good to get out. They brought Elijah some pizza dough to play with. Which eventually... we were all playing with as well.

So the meal came and went. And we finished our wine and DW was holding Elijah. So I grab the dough and start playing with Elijah. I am the master juggler with one piece of dough. I tossing it around... throwing it in the air. Making it go in circles near Elijah's face, then BAM!!!

Oh Fuck!!

I accidentally jam my hand into Elijah's face poking my finger into his eye. Pretty hard too. I immediately feel like shit. Here I am gone for a couple of days... I hear stories of him asking for "Papa" by the door and I accidentally jam him with my forefinger. So I pick him up from my wife's arms. I hug him. And you know babies... They get hurt, you pick them up, you hug them 30...45 seconds go by... You look at them to see if they are okay. And there eye's are squinted, the mouth is wide open... face is purple as the wine left in your glass.... Nothing is coming out. Just a purple face with a mouth wide open, like me frozen in the picture above with out the sarcastic expression. Time has officially stopped because Elijah hasn't taken a breath yet. Then all of a sudden, the gates of hell open and all you hear is "WAHHHH!!!!!!" I hug him and kiss him and he doesn't stop crying of course...

I felt so bad... He's all good though... trashed the SIL's house with water.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

I think about myself and my own situation. I struggle. I struggle with living a life to its fullest. The way you live is mostly in your control and the rest is dumb luck. When you are a kid you have aspirations. Who doesn't have desire to be a great person? I, at one time, had strong desire to be a successful musician. The desire came when I was 14 years old. I don't know why. Maybe it was the struggles of adolescence or moving to a new place and having to adapt. Something hit me at that age and I just worked at it every. I picked up a brass horn and played it 2 hours a day. I learned. I studied. I worked on rhythm. I shaped myself into something pretty good by 16 and great by 18. I just played and played until I was good enough to be in the California State Honor Band and get a scholarship to college for it. I wasn't necessarily book smart but I made the grades and became something. And then I went to LA to make it with music either as a performer or the business guy behind it. To be that top guy some where. And it all came crashing down in 7 short months. I was 23. The music in me that I grew kind of died. All that energy I amassed in 9 years sort of left and I fell into the comfort position of the job I have now. That was 10 years ago.

I sort of made the discovery the past week that this whole pain thing I am dealing with is possibly psychological. (Teeny is going DUH!!) I believe now that I am making myself hurt. I have hurt for the better part of 5 years. Ever since that concussion in 2002. All those headaches. Even back to my very first post, 472 posts ago. I am not getting better. Drugs aren't making me better. All that acupuncture bullshit I put myself through. The shots in the spine. The MRI's, the Spinal Taps and the physical therapy. I am coming to the realization that it is all bullshit. It's probably some deep seated depression I just need to get the fuck over.

I am going to be 34 in 28 days. I need to somehow go find that guy I was at 23 and wake his shit up. What the hell was I doing? I did everything and anything I wanted from the time I was 14 until I was 23 out of sheer drive. That and I just didn't see to care about the consequences of failure because that was not an option. I don't feel that drive. I am more or less watching the wheels go around. I need to step into a cold shower after a late night of partying. I don't necessarily need the music thing back... I just need the energy I felt being on top of my little world. When I walked out of college I was unstoppable. Naive as all hell yes... but unstoppable. I think getting that energy back will bring back to keep climbing one more hill.

One More Hill is one of my favorite song and Greg Graffin does an awesome performance on the album. "If you think you have reached the top of the world. Just look all around and you'll see."

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Be sure to read the one one below this if you haven't already. I thought I'd write again about this. You know me and my coffee and my whole standing in line thing, driving an SUV, voting Republican... my son Elijah... yada yada yada...

Well, during half time of the 49er game, which they won in overtime 37-31 with a fumble recovery for a touchdown... I took Elijah with me for a cup of joe.

Been to this place many times, either late at night or early in the morning. Never mid afternoon on a Sunday. So I park the Porsche outside, hoist Elijah from his car seat and head inside. There was a grip of people in there. All college age... dark clothing... dreads.. multiple sexual preferences... free spirits and I am like "Holy Shit... I hope I don't get jumped by a stoner for my Keen sandals."

Anyhow... I walk in. Elijah has a bright yellow shirt on that says "Born to be spoiled" and red shorts... We just got out of the Porsche... we are screaming capitalism which ironically these people don't even though they outfill the Starbucks acrossed the street three to one and fresh herb is procured in the most capitalist of fashions through an underground network.

Who knew at 14-15 years old when you bought a copy of the "Joshua Tree" by U2, you were buying probably and arguably the greatest rock album of all time. Nothing has sounded like it before and nothing sounded like it sense. (Unless of course you make the pilgrimage to a show when they are on tour and they play songs from it). I probably have bought 4-5 copies of this album due to format changes like tape to CD, or I flat out lost them. I also have an original vinyl release, unopened in my record collection in my basement. I saw it at an old record store and perhaps it will be worth something someday. It's a 10 million seller in the US alone.

Well guess what boys and girls, you can buy it again. This fall, you can spend your hard earned dollars on buying a sure fire hit record, where all the songs are good and not crap, like say the latest Pearl Jam or Britney Spears record. And you can get a bonus.. I bunch of cool shit like photos of the band from 1987 where they look older than they do now, a DVD of a concert from Paris, a digitally remastered version of the album which will sound better and won't have the muddy, analog hiss in the background during the opening song, "Where The Streets Have No Name". The Edge's guitar will jingle and jangle like never before. Each delay effect will be precise. The 'boom, boom, boom, buh da da boom' of Adam's bass will sound so crisp and clear in "I Still Haven't Found What I Am Looking For". The bass and guitar during Bullet The Blue Sky will sound even more dissonant because the two different keys they are playing will leap from the background in 5.1 Stereo. And Bono... his over-wrought, pseudo Christ-like lyrics will leap into your brain like a preacher stealing hearts in a travelling show for the love of money.

The complete song list is as follows:

Where The Streets Have No Name / I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For / With Or Without You / Bullet The Blue Sky / Running To Stand Still / Red Hill Mining Town / In God’s Country / Trip Through Your Wires / One Tree Hill / Exit / Mothers Of The Disappeared

The bonus CD gets you outtakes and B-Sides:

Luminous Times (Hold On To Love) / Walk To The Water / Spanish Eyes / Deep In The Heart / Silver And Gold / Sweetest Thing / Race Against Time / Where The Streets Have No Name (Single edit) / Silver And Gold (Sun City) / Beautiful Ghost/Introduction to Songs of Experience / Wave Of Sorrow (Birdland) / Desert Of Our Love / Rise Up / Drunk Chicken/America

The highlights there are the versions of Silver And Gold, Wave of Sorrow and Spanish Eyes.

The bonus DVD gets you:

U2 Live from Paris - filmed at the Hippodrome de Vincennes in Paris, on July 41987, on the European leg of The Joshua Tree tour. The tracklist is as follows: I Will Follow / Trip Through Your Wires / I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For / MLK / The Unforgettable Fire / Sunday Bloody Sunday / Exit / In God’s Country / Electric Co. / Bad / October / New Year’s Day / Pride (In The Name Of Love) / Bullet The Blue Sky / Running To Stand Still / With Or Without You / Party Girl / 40

WTF? No Where The Streets Have No Name? I'd trade October for that any day. Highlight here should be the live version of Trip Through Your Wires, Bad, Sunday Bloody Sunday and Running to Stand Still

Anyhow... this should be cool shit for any U2 fan if not any music fan period. Buy yours today.

Buy mine for my birthday and/or Christmas. Either way it is the same thing for me... Presents once a year...WTF is up with that bullshit!!

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

The Greatest Rock Band Ever (The Pixies)I'm not black like Barry White, but I am white like Frank Black is

Just to screw with you all I am writing in a different font... Ha Ha...

Thank God for four days off (technically). I could use it. We are finally getting those cold mornings ( a balmy 40 degrees Lawryde, I know it's really cold in Peoria because it sucks ass) But with the cold comes the pain... Oh my God... My hips feel like someone came from behind with a couple of meat hooks and just jammed them into my pelvis. I can hear the laughter in the background like... "I got you asshole, you are mine"

What the hell did I do? Fighting the temptation to just pour the whole bottle of Vicodin down my throat with a Knob Creek chaser.

Anyhow... I am stuck with my parents on Turkey Day. Elijah and Kr--er um Darling wife will be there for moral support.

This is how it will go down:

My Mom will worry that the restaurant will have lost our reservation.

My Mom will keep talking about other family members throughout the meal.

My Mom will keep talking and talking until my Dad tells her to shut up.

My Dad will begin asking questions about car washes while playing with Elijah.

DW will order her first magic elixir (Kettle One and Tonic)

I will start answering the questions on car washes and my mom will interrupt worrying about what the other family members are doing.

I will spread some gossip because that is what holds the car wash industry together.

My Dad will concur with more questions quietly with lots of space in between sentences while finishing his beer.

(During this time, I will have searched for a not to over priced wine...Notice DW hasn't got a word in edge wise yet...except to ask me about her second vodka tonic...)

My mom will openly talk about what she bought us all for Christmas, her boutiques for her crafts and past history about the time my brother shoved his elbow into the banana pie on Thanksgiving 29-30 years ago.

My Dad will order another beer. At this point my mom will look around the room disgruntled because our waiter hasn't taken our food order. She will frown because I choose Prime Rib over Turkey...

The waiter comes and my mom will push back to make her order. I will let my Dad and DW order before I order. I will choose a red wine for the table that is not too heavy, not a Zin or Merlot, but a varietal or Reb Table Wine. Possibly a Sangiovese or Barbera... All along staring at the Fume Blanc or Riesling on the white side of the list. (Been craving Whites lately)

When I finally order my mother will frown because of the veggies I order. She will say comically to the waiter. "He doesn't eat vegetables, I don't know why he's ordering them" as I order a side salad too.

My mom will not see the signs that she should offer to hold Elijah as he is on his second batch of restaurant toys and crackers and is now working on his first crayon. I panic over the crayons even being near him while DW gives me the old, "Who's the better parent look" (She is by far... Trust me!)

The food will come and so will DW's third Vodka Tonic, my dad's fifth beer and my mom's tenth scowl. I will be enjoying a wine/Vicodin buzz, picking on my mother with everything she says.

The food will be good... My mother will comment profusely on the food quality or randomly bring up people I went to high school with. She'll also get in a jab how we couldn't afford college and how I could I pay all that money to go there. She'll comment on how well off DW's family appears to be in her eyes or she'll ask how much I make and DW will say "Oh Carol...stop". Then she'll ask if we have an Adjustable Rate Mortgage that is about reset and how we'll lose our house if we had one.

My Dad will say "Carol.. quit it! Why do you always say this shit?" DW will have left to walk Elijah around during this whole tirade. I will have ordered Vodka Tonic 4.

I will have finished the potatoes and spinach I ordered with the prime rib. My mom will talk about the eating habits of her four other grand kids.

The dessert menu will come and my mom will order something she won't eat and my dad won't order anything because he is still pissed at what she said.

I will order something that both me and DW like in case I can't finish.

Elijah will smile and stare at all the strange people.

Finally the bill will come and my dad won't let me pay... My mom will wonder out loud who is driving and complain that they have no money as my dad pushes me out of the way to pay. I will have been fine to drive because I held it to two glasses of wine plus I knew DW wanted the vodka tonic to get through it.

And that will be Thanksgiving tomorrow. DW and I will print this list off and bring it with us and check it off as we go. We call it Holiday Bingo... Play it sometime...

Monday, November 19, 2007

One of the greatest bands all time: The CultPlaying the Greatest Rock Song of All Time:"Love Removal Machine"

I didn't join "The Cult"... I wish though because they rock the shit out. They were both before and after their time. I'd be pretty shit with dyed blond hair and a Les Paul strapped to my body. I wish I had a voice that good. That is a pure rock star voice... nice and strong and full but snarly as hell. Nothing prides me more when a Civic rolls up next to the 914 and I am blasting "The Cult" on my iPod.

The cult I did join however was Facebook. After a couple months of being egged on by a loyal reader, I joined. This after I was shown the way of the stalker by Teeny on myspace. Teeny doesn't have a blog or the time to blog apparently between the protests and hippie marches she does to the Birkenstock factory in Berkeley. But I hardly know her so WTF do I know, right Teeny? (Are we seeing you at Xmas?) But she showed me the lovely art of stalking. All those kids that teased me as a little kid grew up to be ugly and divorced and merely high school educated!! Redemption is mine!!! HA HA!!!

Anyhow... I signed up to facebook and immediately had 8 friends. How in the hell did that happen? It's like myspace but better. You don't get a ton of emails from hot chicks asking you to be their friends but what you do get is better stalking tools and games and shit. You have total control on your page with a bunch of user friendly stuff.

But can there be two centers of the Universe?

Well... in theory no... But in reality there is... We all know this blog is the center of the universe or "you people" (LOL I said "you people" like a Democrat) wouldn't stop by and read everyday. But the center of the universe now has a duel nucleus. My blog and my facebook page. I have been signed up since last week and I think it is the coolest shit ever next to this.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

I just realized, a few dayss late, that I have been blogging for three years. I started in 2004 right after the election because that whole week I kept hearing on local talk radio about blogs and bloggers.

I think I started off kind of lame. Not knowing what to write about. Trying this approach and that approach and worrying about if people would start reading or not. I tried figuring out how to promote it and what to do. I'd always be looking at the stat counter just to see if there was anybody. I'd see one reader or two readers and realize that they came here on accident or just after I posted something because a lot of bloggers just click "next blog" on top of any Blogger blog like this one. (anything blogspot.com is part of Blogger).

Then I gave up worrying about who was coming and started just writing whatever I wanted too. Sure I have a few family members and friends that read and respond but ultimately people keep coming and keep reading. A lot of people do not comment and that is okay. At least I know they are reading almost everyday a little bit of me feels better that they do bookmark me and keep on reading.

So I guess what I am saying is 'Thanks' to everyone. It means a lot that people come and read. I hope I am entertaining, inciteful and don't annoy you too much. Afterall, it's just one man's opinion.

I feel everyday and every post I write, someone new reads it and keeps coming back. It's interesting that someone would pick up someone's journal and keep it reading it despite my lack of proficiency in good grammar.

And to the handful of people that come each week because they bought an IKEA faucet that is a bitch to install, I hope I have helped you on your way. My way still hasn't leaked and it has been well over a year. IKEA is a truly incredible store and has saved my wife and I lots of money. They just need to remember they are selling stuff in America.

And for those who come by this time of year and wonder about those who are born on Christmas, it truly does suck but it is much better as you get older. The pandering never ceases but at least people recognize you for it.

And why I am in the top 10 for the phrase, "Who crawled up your ass and died?" has got me. Of course, earlier this week I was getting hits for 'Glenn Close getting F*cked' and I have no idea why that happens.

Friday, November 16, 2007

PRESS RELEASE:Porsche at the Los Angeles Auto Show Committed to Alternative Drive Systems

Stuttgart/Los Angeles. Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, is presenting drive concepts particularly friendly to the environment at the Los Angeles Auto Show starting on November 16, 2007: The highlight of this leading event at the Los Angeles Convention Center is of course the first appearance of the innovative Cayenne Hybrid in America. At the same time Porsche is also presenting a milestone in automobile development to the well-informed public attending the most significant trend show in North America with their great knowledge of history and technical development over the years: The electric-drive Lohner-Porsche from the year 1900, one of the world's first zero emission vehicles and, accordingly, a forerunner for hybrid drive.

With its future-oriented electric motors in the wheel hubs, the Lohner-Porsche was acknowledged as the absolute sensation at the Paris World Fair in 1900. On loan from the Technical Museum in Vienna, Austria, this outstanding achievement in technology protected today as a universal monument is now to be seen the first time outside of Europe at an auto show.

It was this vehicle, Ferdinand Porsche's first major project completed at the time without layshafts and without a transmission that gave the 24-year-old automobile genius his breakthrough as a pioneer in the history of the automobile. Shortly thereafter Ferdinand Porsche added a combustion engine providing power for the electric generator to the electric drive system with two internal-pole motors in the front wheels. This made Porsche's hybrid drive ready for production and created a unique highlight at the Paris Auto Show in 1901.

More than 100 years later the engineers at Porsche's Weissach Research & Development Center took up precisely this concept, creating the future-oriented high-tech Cayenne Hybrid, a unique vehicle combining superior efficiency with equally superior driving dynamics. The Full-Parallel-Hybrid System developed by Porsche combines the best of two worlds so efficiently that the series-production will consume less than 9 liters/100 km. An equally important point was to maintain Porsche's typically ambitious standards in terms of vehicle weight and driving dynamics also in the hybrid model. And perhaps the best news is that Porsche will be introducing this very economical SUV before the end of this decade.

The Los Angeles Auto Show has become the most significant show for Porsche in the USA, reaching Porsche customers in one of the brand's main regions with maximum impact and with a great effect on the company's image. The particular lifestyle of California is clearly borne out by the new Porsche GT2 likewise making its North American debut in Los Angeles and offering high technology of tomorrow in today's market: This 530-hp super-sportscar is powered by a biturbo engine featuring a new expansion intake manifold to reduce fuel consumption under full load. The fastest production-911 of all times will be available as of February 2008 in the USA at a retail price of US$ 191,700.

Holy crap... I also got the latest issue of Christophorus, the Porsche magazine that goes to out to Porsche owners. The hybrid will retain it's near 300 HP and even have faster acceleration while it drags it's 150 lb Duracell battery pack down the road. How cool is that!! Leave it up to the Germans to come up with something cool.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

See above link. Normally I'd copy that link and post it on my new blog "Steve's Word" that you, my loyal reader, does not read because I track that shit.

Okay, our liberal friends down in Australia want to end the myth of Santa by replacing the "Ho Ho Ho" with "Ha Ha Ha". Why? Because apparently the word Ho is offensive to women. How do they know this? Did they poll the women? Is there a contingent of women out there who cry every Christmas when they visit the mall and see this giant dude saying ho ho ho when he is having is picture taken with little boys and girls? Is this sub-conscious oppression from when these women were awkward teenagers forced to have their picture taken with Santa with their little brothers against their will from an over bearing parent who can't seem to accept that their kids are getting older?

What is this world coming to when we ban tradition in the face of something the most remotely offensive especially when it has to do with something completely harmless and filled with all good like Santa Claus. The liberal assault on Christmas has now gone global. Pretty soon if the libs have their way there will be no Christmas at all because of their fear of Christians, Christianity and all religions related specifically to Christianity. That means no holiday season, no Christmas songs and no hurt feelings at family get togethers between siblings who haven't spoken all year. What the liberals forget however is that Christmas has actually nothing to do with the birth of Christ. Christianity just took over a pagan holiday. A holiday where cultures for eons got together to celebrate the new year around the winter solstice with feasts and gifts. It's a holiday as symbolic as burying our dead. However assigning Jesus's name to it has made Christmas what it is today and how we enjoy it. If you want to really get after Santa and his ho ho ho's blame the Coca Cola Corporation who came up with the the most recent image of Santa in the late 19th century. It is the red and white image of Santa as a jolly old fat man with rosey cheeks and a long white beard that we all love in Santa that coincidentally is the color of the Coca Cola logo. So besides the liberal hatred of religion, it is the liberal hatred of corporate influence and corporate wealth of the global economy is the real reason for the complete shut down of Christmas in the next few years. This will be a serious detriment to our children because the world will not have a season to which they care about the lead and GHB content of our childrens Fisher Price toys. It will just be December 25th, just another day for everyone else, but me... because it is my birthday. If I hear Santa yelling ha ha ha instead of ho ho ho at the mall this year, I am going to beat his ass for being a conformist and liberal who will probably vote for Hillary next November.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

It's starts getting funny at 2:30 and then rises to a full on laugh at 3:10

I swear I thought this was in Calaveras County until I heard the guy's accent. Even then though, he could have been riding down Southworth Rd outside of Burson or way up on Mountain Ranch Rd. I couldn't put my finger on it...

Teeny, DW, Kaya? Any ideas? Definitely not Wallace folk because they'd be on a John Deere not a Craftsman and the Buffalo Stop no longer has a bar. Even then, he'd be on a broken moped and would have prospector's gold mining gear on the back. Definitely not Arnold because there is no snow plow on it. Murphys folk have people do their yards for them. San Andreas? Angels? No big yards for grass... Anywhere else in the county, he'd be smoking weed and heading to the meth dealer's house, forget the beer!!! That just knocked off 90% of the county and those potheads would have ripped the engine out of this lawn mower and installed it in homemade go kart any way.

You really have to grow up in Calaveras County to understand this post. How did we learn to adapt to big city life, cable TV, "teh" internets and use "teh" google? How did we ever get to college let alone pronounce college? How in the hell do we still have our teeth? Did I just slam Bush again? Twice in one week? WTF?

Saturday, November 10, 2007

(Trivia: The singer was in Nine Inch Nails and his brother played Johnny Cash's Father in 'Walk the Line' who was also the villain in Terminator 2. Weird!!)

I’m 34,000 feet above the heart of America and we’re all about to die (LOL from Almost Famous).Seriously though, I am stuck on a 5 hour flight from Atlanta to Sactown.The interesting thing is that it is clear the whole way.The plane flew across Alabama and then up to Memphis.I am guessing we are somewhere over Nebraska now.What is interesting though is that every Podunk town is well lit as far as the eye can see because it is so clear.You can see every high school football stadium that is lit up.A little tiny patch of green grass with stadium lights around it.

What to do for five hours?Well, I am tired of work.I’m tired of crunching numbers and glazing over on spreadsheets.I have 62% battery life on my T-60.A full charge on my iPod so I guess I am set.

They are playing some stupid chick movie on the flight called, “Evening”.You know it is a chick flick when you see Meryl Streep and Glenn Close in the credits.I haven’t been listening to the movie at all but I occasionally look up.My iPod seems to sync to certain scenes.It was real funny when “Welcome to the Fold” by Filter played on my iPod during a dinner scene.Funny to watch the words actually sync up to movie.

I was puzzled by the Five Points station in Atlanta.See, Atlanta is a fucked up town for transportation.I have no idea how they did the Olympics.I was in the Olympic area in one of the venue areas for a three day show.And it was freaking impossible to get too.Our hotel was six blocks away.You’d think we could walk but no way.It was six long blocks and you had to cross this area of downtown calledFive Points.Also what was weird, a cab charged a flat fee to the airport of $30.I paid that on the way in but this time I figured I’d take the public transit system called MARTA which runs a train from downtown to the airport for a buck seventy five.

Public transit in Atlanta is a freaking culture shock for my white, honky ass.Holy shit!!.I didn’t have a fear of getting jumped or anything. (I just noticed the clock, 6:42—3 hours more!!!)No I didn’t fear for my safety.There were a few of us crackers on the train.A few that maybe I could count on my hand; minus my thumb and forefinger.I was born in the Bay Area and I lived near San Francisco.I was the token white guy on the school bus amongst Filipinos.I had been in a highly diverse, er um reverse situation like this before.I just hadn’t like this.The train was full.I was afraid to take a seat so I just stood holding my suitcase and computer bag like a dick for 20 minutes.

The real interesting thing that occurred was at the airport.Once I left the train station and walked into the terminal.I noticed anyone and everyone, including this flight back to Sacramento; we’re all white, except for the Indian guy with his two kids.I guess what shocks me the most is that is where our diversity in this world ends.Atlanta is a pretty clean town for the most part.The trains were very well taken care except for where the wash brushes missed the windows on the side where each car connected but that’s me, I notice inferior vehicle washing and I love to digress.I was kind of sad though because you can really tell that white America has repressed the black population so much in the past that it never really changed.A $1.75 train ride is quite a bit different than a $440 plane flight.How will we ever change in this country?

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

I made it. Chalk up another state for ole Stevereno. Second time I have ever been across the Mississippi River. Actually the third if you count the time I flew over to England and picked up DW before she was DW (She was just D I guess... I didn't want to write DGF... oh forget it) and took her to Liverpool and asked her to marry me at some bar outside the Cavern Club where the Beatles first played.

I digress...

I had my iPod on shuffle and it totally synced to my flight. I had CNN on the screen and I just watched the news as flew across the country. I occasionally had to drop my head phones into the seat so I could hear what Wolf Blitzer was saying. News reporters are pompous asses sometimes. But it was cool, Hurricane by Bob Dylan came on while they were packing the lawyers in Pakistan into paddy wagons because of Musharaff decided cancel their constitution. Freaking amazing how a boxing story could fit along to that. Oasis's D'you Know What I Mean? played while Hillary Clinton was being interview because she got run by the fellas in her debate.

Occasionally I turned off the TV and played the trivia game. What's cool is you can play along to other people on the plane. We were on a 767 so there were a lot of people. One of the things I have naturally done well with is trivia. I played three rounds and won all three. The last won I killed. You have to answer 20 multiple choice questions and you get extra points for answering quickly. The first couple of games I only got like 7-8 questions right but I earned like 3000 points. The last game I owned and took it to the guys in row 33. I fuct these guys up with 5250 points. They only had like 2400. And two of them were answering questions so they had double the brain power.

First time I have been this far from Elijah since he was born. Kind of different because you can't just run to the airport and catch a plane on the hour back to Sactown from here like you can in the rest of California. I didn't sleep last night because of this flight. Not because of the length of the flight or any fear. I think it was the anxiety of sitting for 4 plus hours. I hurt as soon as my ass hit the chair. I always get the aisle and when we were first on the plane, I had a single serving friend in the middle seat with a red sports out fit head to toe. I mean it was RED. He looked like a gangster. He had all kinds of tats too. Not cool tats like Lawryde's sparrows but like tear drops and shit. I swear if they didn't move him at take off I might have thrown down because he sat right down and took my arm rest. He was playing Soduku too. I can't stand that game. All that erasing because they can't get the numbers right the first time.

I downed a Woodfire Bourbon shot and a vike... Never could shake all the pain though.

Saturday, November 03, 2007

Too bad I didn't have my camera. Last night, me and the gang got together to finally draft our NBA Fantasy League teams at my buddy Scott's house. There were 9 of us this year so it should be a good game. I got LeBron James as my third pick and was able to to get some decent rebounders in Chris Bosh and Al Jefferson. Late in the round I started to gamble. Slim pickings towards the end. Only if Peja Stojakovic can stay healthy. If he does I have a good chance at winning. One of the rules we added this year was Technical Fouls. We have all the major stats but the Technical Foul addition helps if you do not have an overtly aggressive defense to pick up some points. I feel good. Solid picks with some decent scorers. LeBron should hold up well with his 45 he dropped last night.

The fun however started after the draft. All nine of us played a Texas Hold'em cash game. $10 buy in. I won the first hand with some aggressive play getting up a couple of bucks. Then I went for the juggular on someone and he caught a river card knocking me off my game. I got pissed.

Suddenly a string of cards came I had never seen! I proceded to have 6 hands in a row where I knocked another player out. I was landing straights and flushes left and right. I was on fire. I didn't have to play real hard. We got to the end and it was me and two tough players. Guys who can clearly play better than me. I used my stack of chips to just push them around for a while but we were at a stalemate for like an hour. I wasn't gaining and the guy in second place started to gain. The third place guy lost out to me and then bought back in for another $10. I knocked him down.

So at the end, me and the last guy Gary were left. There were exactly one hundred dollars in chips in the game and we had roughly a 70-30 split. It was midnight and I was tired and in good pain. My left arm had been hurting all day. I offered a 70-30 pay out and Gary declined. He countered me to take $20 and he'd take 10 so I was guaranteed at least $20 and then we'd play for the rest. He commented a few times that he was the better player and honestly he really is but I wouldn't relent. It was the fourth time in a tournament that I was in a heads up situation. I had only won once before (and I won like $250) in heads up and Gary is a pretty good challenger to deal with.

He liked to push me around the first few hands. I just paid to see flops for a while and I let him take down a couple because I had nothing. Then the stars lined up again. I got dealt a Queen seven off suit. Not a really good hand but decent in heads up because of the high card. He pushed me into the flop. It came 4-7-4. I had two pair with the queen. Gary commented under his breath that he got a "piece of the flop". I hesitated to bet on my two pair so I checked to see what Gary would do. Gary plays tight and he is a great bluffer but can really fuck with your head too when he has a great hand. He bet strong with a $5 bet. I saw it.

Next card, a low 8 card. A possible straight forming but he'd need a 6 along with a three or five. I assumed he had 4 or a 7 like I did and we'd be playing to the high card. I still checked. He came strong with another $5. I called. Next card was a two. I realized here that he might have been playing for a flush with the three hearts out there or he had the 7 like I did. Still I checked and he came in with 10 bucks now. I was about to fold when I thought, 'If he had a 4 he'd have a full house so he would have gone all in, like wise with a flush. No straight was possible...' So since he only came in with 10 and still had 10 bucks left, I wondered if it was a bluff the whole time. So I said, "Fuck it... All in" The looks on his eyes were like "Shit, Steve actually played a hand!" Having two pair all the way, I just waited for a full house when he turned his cards over. Nope... Nothing. My two pair was good.